Kilkenny and Waterford collide in crunch NHL clash

This weekend sees the final regulation fixtures in the Allianz National Hurling League take place with Kilkenny’s meeting with Waterford the stand out tie on show (Sunday, 1.45pm- UPMC Nowlan Park)

The Cats go into the final weekend in second position in Division 1B and while they have won three of their four games thus far, they are still not guaranteed of a place in the league semi-finals.

Waterford lead on seven points, one ahead of Kilkenny, two clear of Dublin and three ahead of Tipperary.

Kilkenny play Waterford in the final round, knowing that a win or draw would earn a semi-final place while Dublin need to beat Laois and hope that Waterford beat Kilkenny, in which case Mattie Kenny’s men would reach the last four.

If Kilkenny beat Waterford and Dublin beat Laois, Kilkenny will top the group on eight points, with Waterford and Dublin both on seven points, having drawn their tie earlier on.

Waterford have a much better scoring difference, standing at +44 points, whereas Dublin are -8.

Tipperary would reach the last four if they beat Antrim, Waterford beat Kilkenny and Laois beat Dublin.

Antrim who have lost all four games in Group B will definitely face a relegation play-off against either Limerick or Offaly who meet in the last round in Group A.

It’s been decent without being spectacular in the league thus far for Kilkenny and they seem to be improving with every game.

Brian Cody’s side were somewhat fortunate to escape with a three point victory at home to Antrim in the opening game where Mossy Keoghan bagged a couple of crucial goals for the winners.

A week later Kilkenny travelled to FBD Semple Stadium to take on Tipperary and in a scrappy game they went down to a one point defeat with Tipp marksman Jason Forde getting the hosts over the line in a 1-19 to 1-18 success with James Stephens man Tadhg O’Dwyer finding the net in defeat for the Cats.

A break followed a week later and on the league’s resumption Kilkenny certainly saw an improvement with two very impressive victories over Leinster rivals Laois and Dublin.

The tie with the O’Moore County was the second of three meetings in 2022 and like in the Walsh Cup in January, Kilkenny ran out rather comprehensive winners as they overpowered Cheddar Plunkett’s side on a 2-28 to 0-17 scoreline in UPMC Nowlan Park with newcomer Tom Phelan finding the net on a couple of occasions.

That victory led into a meeting with Dublin and many observers predicted a victory for the City slickers but the Cats produced a devastating display as they ran riot against their hosts with Walter Walsh and Mossy Keoghan netting goals while Huw Lawlor, Paddy Deegan, David Blanchfield and Padraig Walsh all stood out.

It all means that if Kilkenny avoid defeat against the Deise, then they will advance to the last four with either Cork or Wexford lying in wait as the opposition.

Avoiding defeat is no easy task though considering the opposition that stands in the way.

Liam Cahill’s Waterford side have yet to beaten in this year’s league campaign and for many experts, they look best equipped to take down the Limerick juggernaut later in the summer.

Unlike Kilkenny with their Shamrocks of Ballyhale contingent, the Munster side re-introduced their Ballygunner players after their All-Ireland club final success the last day out so the way they swatted aside the challenge of Tipperary was most impressive.

2020 all-star Stephen Bennett notched a tally of 1-16 in that ten point win and he will have to be closely watched in the county’s first meeting since the All-Ireland semi-final two years ago.

Tadhg De Burca has returned to their team after recovering from a cruciate ligament injury and with Conor Prunty, Darragh Lyons and Patrick Curran all firing they will be a real tough nut to crack.

The likes of Jamie Barron, Austin Gleeson and Dessie Hutchinson played no part in the Tipperary game so it will be interesting to see if they are available this weekend.

Kilkenny will be doing everything in their power to qualify for the knockout stages of the league and having Waterford coming to town will be a great challenge ahead of the championship in a couple of weeks time.

With the Shamrocks players possibly coming back into the fold, it could be a tasty afternoon in prospect